Awareness of pupils from selected high schools about issue of dying

The thesis deals with the subject of dying and death and focuses on secondary school students' awareness of this issue. The theoretical part of the thesis describes stages of dying, the needs of a dying person and their emotional state. Furthermore, it distinguishes between dying at home and dying in a health care institution. In the following chapters, the thesis focuses on palliative care, the process of grieving, funeral rites and the issue of euthanasia. The method of the theory was reading of literature that specializes in the issue. The practical part of the thesis compares data from questionnaires given to secondary school students on the topic of death and dying. The research shows that the students' awareness of the issue is considerably low - 84% respondents did not know what the term "palliative care" meant, 88% respondents did not know what the term "hospice" meant and 74% respondents were not familiar with the term "euthanasia". The research has found that there is a need to broaden the secondary school students' knowledge on the topic of dying. KEYWORDS thanatology, dying, death, euthanasia, palliative car